This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for effecting therapy on a patient. More particularly, the present invention provides for electrical stimulation of muscles and nerves in aqueous media for the purpose of alleviating a broad range of medical conditions, as well as for specific non-medial objectives.
The number of medical applications that use electrical stimulation is large and covers virtually every living body component. These applications include prevention of muscle atrophy, promotion of wound healing, prevention of venous thrombosis, alleviation of both chronic/acute pain and prevention of incontinence to name but a few. Electrical stimulation is also wide-spread for such non-medical objectives as muscle training, muscle toning, improving muscle endurance, and muscle relaxation. These objectives are likewise attained by the present invention.
Electrical stimulation of muscles and nerves is well established in medicine and physical therapy with a history dating back to mid-1850's. Such stimulation is currently achieved by applying electrodes to: the skin at the point(s) of desired electrical stimulation; and/or through insertion of electrical probes into body cavities, and/or through surgical insertion of electrodes.
Aquatic therapy are programs using mechanical and thermal characteristics of water during partial or complete immersion in combination with the effects of movement. It evokes short-term and long-term adaptational mechanisms of a person with a deranged biological system, using specific stimuli to create biological and thus therapeutic effects. Aquatic physiotherapy is physiotherapy which uses more than one of the unique properties of water for therapeutic rehabilitation. Prior art aquatic therapy deals primarily with devices that enable therapists or patients to more effectively treat medical or non-medical conditions mechanically or ergonomically.
Early attempts to combine electrical stimulation of muscles and nerves in aqueous media treatment were provided through galvanic bath electrotherapy. This is a treatment modality in which patients are immersed in a hot bath (e.g., 34 degree Celsius) and a weak electric current is applied to the bath and passes through the patient's body. Galvanic bath therapy is normally administered for fifteen minutes. The historic targets of galvanic bath therapy have been degenerative diseases such as inflammatory arthritis and joint problems. The direct, constant current used in galvanic bath therapy, however, is generally too weak to maintain force output and is not able to produce tetanic muscle contraction since muscle responses typically occur only when current is turned on and off.
Aquatic electrotherapy prior art that results in effective tetanic electrical stimulation, i.e., electrical stimulation that treats indications approved by the U.S. Drug and Food Administration (FDA) has not been found.